It may be far off, but the HOT Recumbent Rally and Rodeo taking place in February 2016 has a limited number of spots, and they’re filling up fast! The original HOT mama Jane Knight tells all below and encourages participants to grab their spot for a one-of-a-kind experience!
Why join your ride?
The HOT (Heart of Texas Recumbent Rally and Rodeo) is a three day celebration for those who like to ride reclined! The Hot is NOT an “organized ride” where you arrive, wave to a few people, eat a couple of bananas and a cereal bar and go home.
The HOT consists of three days of being in the recumbent culture. There is a Laid Back Social for everyone to bring a “pot luck” snack and meet and greet the other Bent riders. During the Social, there will be trikes and bikes to test ride, as well as several neat “gizmos” that will make riding more fun. Would you rather ride than sit around and yadda, yadda, yadda? Head to the Veloway with a group to ride around in circles!
On Saturday, set your alarm to be on time for school! Don’t worry, you will NOT sleep through these classes! Recumbent University is held to teach us a thing or two about recumbent mechanics and some great riding tips from Dan The Man Hansen, who rides ridiculously far and fast in his big yellow “banana” (recumbent velomobile. Don’t miss the fantastic raffle we have to raise money for charity – lots of FANTASTIC prizes to be won. Saturday afternoon will be the much anticipated HOT Rodeo. Hey – this is Texas – we need a rodeo to make the event true Texan! Saddle up your bent to run the barrel race, pole bending, and for those with a need for speed, the “HOT Shot” all out drag race for the bragging rights to fastest recumbent bike and trike in Texas! In 2016, Austin Events and Lighting is the host of the Rodeo. Bring your boots – there will be boot scootin’ music and a DJ during the rodeo to make us rock and roll the entire time!
Sunday morning, all the bents get together for a farewell ride. This is NOT a fancy smansy organized ride with cute high school girls handing out Gatorade and cookies. This is a totally unsupported, on your own chance to just do some riding with birds of the same feather. No police to make sure you don’t get run over. You can call us and some one will show up in a minivan to pick you up if you have trouble or just poop out. There are 4 ride levels – the Cowpoke Crawl for those who like to stop and smell the roses (or are going so slow they don’t even have to stop to take a whiff while they pass the roses) that is about ten miles. For those that like to go a little faster and a little farther, there is the Scenic route that goes about 10-12 miles an hour for about 15 miles. The Semi Tough will clip at about 15 miles and hour for a little over 20 miles, and the Warriors go ridiculously fast (18+ miles an hour for forty miles – DO NOT do the Warriors if you cannot keep that pace — you will get left in the middle of nowhere and left to fend for yourself.
A ticket to the HOT will get you lunch on Saturday, a TERRIFIC messenger bag you can carry everywhere you go and look good, a “fandana” microfiber skull cap, headband, scrunchy – whatever you can think of uses for it. We don’t like pin on paper numbers that ruin your expensive jerseys and shirts with those annoying pin holes. Besides, our backs are against a seat – where do you PUT those tacky numbers? Instead, we have super nylon neck wallets that can hold a cell phone, money, keys – anything small that you always have a hard time finding a place for. And to show you just how far we go to make this a unique event — you have COLOR CHOICES for these items. Lots of other perks come with registration – too many to list.
What is the average number of participants?
The HOT is a unique chance for those who ride recumbents to spend time with the other bent people in the world to celebrate the fun of owning a recumbent. Easy Street Recumbents in Austin, Texas is the sponsor of the HOT, and they roll out the red carpet for those attending. However, there is a limit of 100 HOTties (the ones attending). When the number goes over 100, the fun starts being lost. They want a quality experience for the HOTties. So register as early as you can – once the 100th spot is taken, the HOT is officially off limits.
What was the motivation behind starting the ride and who benefits from it?
The HOT first started with just a handful of Catrike recumbent trike owners setting together to have fun in 2009. It has grown by leaps and bounds. In 2015, the HOT was sold out by January 2. Riders from all over the country (even the United Kingdom!) all become Honorary Texans for three days. Riders from New York, Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Illinois, Kansas, Florida, Oregon – ALL OVER – descend on Austin for the HOT.
The HOT has raised money to provide trikes to the physically disabled who otherwise would never know the joy and freedom that comes with riding a recumbent. Also, the HOT raises money for Ataxia research, as some of our HOTties are battling this disease. In essence, the HOTties work to help those who could benefit from the tremendous benefits from riding reclined.
Jane Knight is the official “HOT Mama.” Jane first started this venture when she purchased her Catrike 700 in 2008. She wanted to become friends with others who rode recumbent cycles, and started organizing everyone to have rides. Easy Street Recumbents could not resist becoming the host, as the recumbent world is tight knit and likes to have fun. Easy Street generously became the force behind hosting the HOT. Shelley Stracener has brought her top notch skills to help Jane on board, and the HOT always comes off as being a three day party for recumbent folks. Many close friendships have been made by those attending the HOT, and the HOT has become more of a family reunion of recumbent riders than a “cycling event.”
Anything else you’d like to tell folks about this ride?
So for the Bent cyclists in the world, plan to join us February 26, 27 and 28, 2016 for one of the most fun experiences you will ever have with your recumbent trike or bike. Check out the HOT website (www.heartoftexasrecumbentrally.wordpress.com) and take time to visit every tab. BE SURE and watch the videos from the past HOT rallies so you can see the huge smiles and laughter of all those there. Don’t miss the rodeo segments — TOO FUN for words to describe!